Happy belated Valentines day. That's when I called our web host (Lunarpages) to ask about upgrading the site to one of their VPS servers.
They informed me however, Radified uses too many server resources to qualify for their VPS plan, and that I need to upgrade to one of their Dedicated servers instead.
Much as my ego would like to believe we really need a dedicated server, I just don't buy it. So I've been beating the bushes, trying to find a new host.
At the top of my list is ServInt. They're based out of the northern-Virginia/DC area. Altho I'd prefer a server located here on the West coast, I have many fond memories of my weekend visits to DC, back when I lived in Pennsylvania. (Anybody been to Clyde's for brunch in Georgetown?)
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Anyway, the closer I look, the better I like what I see. Been trading emails with the ServInt Sales dept, asking questions. Sales doesn't work the weekend, so that process is currently on hold.
ServInt does nothing but VPS. So you'd expect them to excel in that area.
A VPS server costs $50/month (minimum) .. or $40/month more than we're paying now. So I reduced the calling plan for my cell phone .. from 900 mins/month to 450 (notta big talker), which saves $20/month (painlessly) ..
.. and I changed my plan at 24 Hour Fitness .. from any-club/any-time .. to 1 club 4 days/week. (Since I don't even go that often.) That frees up the other $20/month (also, painlessly) .. for a total of $40 .. or, the difference between our current hosting plan and the cheapest ServInt VPS.
Still haven't made any firm decisions, as I prefer to thoroughly research my options first .. since moving the site to a different host is never much fun .. plus it requires learning how the new host handles things (since they're all different)
.. but if you visit next week, and find the site unavailable, it's probably cuz we're in the process of switching over. (Which takes a day or so for the new DNS to propagate.)
In other news, Symantec released Norton Ghost 14 (wisely deciding to skip the unlucky number 13), which I discuss in this thread » Norton Ghost 14.
Lots more stuff going on here than I have time to mention right now. Hopefully we'll soon be back up to speed. Really looking forward to dialing in Movable Type 4.1, which I installed last month.
The Bug is fine. I now see what people mean when they talk about the 3-year mark being a significant milestone. It's like he became a real person overnight.
He's a big fan of Peter Pan and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I read to him many stories. He's still my primary focus. So I try to give him as much love + affection + attention as I can .. in the allotted time I have each week.
Test anti-spam feature.